Ruby-Throated Hummingbird
by magnipisika16
Summary: He wanted her erased from his memories. They both wanted to know why.
1. She's Not Coming Back

**Chapter One: She's Not Coming Back**

X wakes up to the sound of Y's voice, calling his name. He raises his head slowly, trying to take in his surroundings, and somehow, none of the images he's taken in made sense to him.

_Doc, I think he's waking up..._

Where on earth was he?

_That's strange. We're already halfway through. Do you have the sedative with you?_

X tried to rub sleep off of his eyes, but somehow, something inside him kept making him feel drowsy. His eyelids appeared heavy, and his surroundings were groggily playing around with his vision.

_This early, Doctor?_

It was all as if his only choice was to close his eyes.

_It will be dangerous if he wakes up in the middle of the operation._

The sound of metal against metal brought him back a little. Again, he tried to look around and found clues. Upholstered chairs in rows and columns, strangers talking to one another at once, some ladies in uniform walking across the aisle with carts, an insane amount of bags lying by his feet, the window glass with which his head was rested to, and, of course, Y, who was sitting next to him, giving another of her famous lectures.

Now, he remembers. He was in a train heading to Kiloude with Y, and once again, they were in an argument, which consists of mostly Y talking, and X looking elsewhere, his lips pressed as firmly as the locks that held their bags sealed.

"...See, X?" Y was saying. "You're not even listening to me!"

The boy only blinked, his stare focused on the blurred images from his window, silently wondering to himself why the path to Kiloude must be this long.

"X!"

Still no reply.

The blonde girl sighed disdainfully as she took one of the bags off of X's side, and placed it on her lap.

"Okay, look, I'm sorry, alright?" she whispered, focusing her stare at the bag's latches, her fingers tracing its peculiar patterns aimlessly. "I didn't mean to shout... It's just that this day... This day is supposed to be important since I'm finally going to meet your old traveling friends." She bit her lips, and then sighed.

"Maybe it's the tension coming to me at full force." She gave X a sad glance. "I really want to make a good impression with them, since they've been the ones who treated you like family and gosh X, are you even listening?!"

She slammed her two hands against the bag's hard casing, earning her a few disapproving looks from their neighboring passengers. Y had to give them a silent apology before going back to her companion.

"X, please don't be like this... This is our fifth argument this week."

Still, X remained silent.

Y sighed as she strenuously tried to free herself from their excessive luggage (trying to appease your fiancée's friends, for Y, involves an unforgiving amount of gifts), and stands up, leaving the bag she was just cradling down on her chair.

It was then that X looks up.

"I need to go to the ladies' room..." Y explained.

"So go," X droned, transferring his gaze back to the window. He watched the pained expression in Y's face through her reflection before it disappeared as Y headed out.

He then followed her real body with his gaze, and called out:

"Make sure you hurry up! We're almost there!"

Y gestured that she will, and disappeared into the next car.

"Is that really him?"

X jolted for a minute before shrinking back to his seat.

"Well, he looks like him... I can't believe he's here."

"Nevermind that. I can't believe he's still alive."

X bit his lips as he prayed that those recognizing stares would leave him alone. He wanted nothing more than for that past to finally be annihilated for good.

Where was Y when he needed her presence to overpower his?

Fortunately for him, a disembodied voice finally announced that they have finally reached their destination, and was reminding everyone to not leave any of their belongings on board.

X gave a sigh of relief fixed his coat and reached out for the lone bag in front of him, heaved as he lifted it up to the empty chair beside him, walked to the aisle, picked up the bag again, and then let himself get lost in the stream of people on their way to the nearest exit.

It was great to be in Kiloude for the weekends. A great way to escape the unforgiving weather of Vaniville during this time of the year.

He wondered if his old friends were already there.

_Obliteration will commence in three seconds._

X was about to step out of the doors when a force pushed him outside, making him fall to the ground, scattering his belongings everywhere.

The people only passed by him.

"What the...?"

"Get down!"

A hand grabbed his head and forced it down. Behind him, a loud sound of explosion came brushing forth, and he raised his head to see falling debris raining around the oblivious people.

Startlingly, not one of them seemed to mind.

X freed his head from the mysterious figure's hand and found that it belonged to Y, who peculiarly looked different all of a sudden. This Y looked almost as if she wasn't the one he was just with.

She looked older.

"Y...?"

Then a flash of red light blinded him, and when he turned his head, he saw that the train suddenly burst into flames, but, again, surprisingly, not one of the other passengers minded.

It was as if he was the only one seeing it.

"Come on, X, let's go." Older Y took him by the hand, and began leading his distraught being away from the burning train, but X broke away too immediately.

"Wait!" he cried. "Y might still be in there! I need to find her!" Then he tried to run back, but Older Y grabbed him, and began leading him away again.

"X, we have no time! We need to go!"

"No! Y is... My Y is..." He pulled away again.

"I'm not going without Y!"

"X!"

She grabbed him for the third time, and made him face her.

"Cry all you like, but face the truth: She's not coming back, X..."

The boy looked crushed.

Again, Older Y tried to lead him out of the scene, and X actually complied, his body as light as a corpse's. He watched Older Y's back as she made her way against the sea of people, and slowly, ever so slowly, the image of her began warping in X's head, and soon enough, he had no idea what on earth was happening.

The last thing he was able to hear before collapsing was Older Y's voice begging for him to stay.

_Obliteration complete._

**-END OF CHAPTER ONE-**

**Thanks for reading! If it's not much of a bother, I hope you guys don't mind reviewing! **

**Also, a little head's up. I'm a little slow in updating, so I sure hope you guys are willing to wait a bit ^^"**


	2. She's Not Going to Appear

**Chapter Two: She's Not Going to Appear**

_Hm? That's strange._

_What's wrong?_

_There seemed to have been an extra entity that escaped the Obliteration._

_Well, that is quite strange... Kindly look into it._

_Yes, Doctor._

X wakes up to the sound of birds chirping from right above him. He opens his eyes and finds his body resting on a field of grass on a peaceful spring day.

A yawn before rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Cyllage have never looked lovelier.

Drowsily, X reached for his phone by his side, and faced the blue screen.

Still no messages. He groaned with frustration.

"What is taking that girl so long?" he mumbled as he pushed himself up.

"What's taking who so long?"

X almost jumped in shock as he immediately faced his behind. Y was watching him with pseudo-innocent eyes.

"Y!" he yelped, backing away. "H-How long have you been there?"

She shrugged. "The whole time you were out?"

X glowed even more, as he frantically checked his message archive. "B-But... But how come you didn't tell me you're already here?" He checked his call history. "Not even so much as a call..."

Again, Y just stared at him with the same pseudo-innocent stare.

To that X sighed. "Well, I guess it can't be helped." He put aside his phone and began searching in his bag. All the while he spoke:

"So, how was Unova?" he asked, rummaging through his stuff. "You enjoyed your stay there?"

"X..."

"Oh, and what about Auntie? She having fun? I heard you guys went City-Hopping and visited about five places in one day..."

"X..."

"And what about the food there?" he asked again, beginning to feel a bit agitated as he realized he couldn't find the box he was looking for.

"X, listen to me..."

"By the way, you look really lovely." It was then that he decided to capture a glimpse of her before returning to his bag.

Then he did a double-take.

"...Albeit, a little older..." He moved his eyes from top to bottom, before trying to smile again.

"Did you even sleep there, Y? Look at you..."

"X." Y reached forward and grabbed him by both his shoulders, making him look at her in the eye.

"She's not going to appear."

To that, X just smiled.

"Who's not going to appear...?"

"Y." Then she added: "_You're _Y..."

"What are you talking about? You're already here..." Then, gradually, his smile disappeared. He roughly shook away her hold, stood up, and backed away as far as possible.

"_Now_, do you remember?"

X watched her with scared eyes before looking the other way, where he could see a great view of the ocean, and the ships that docked and will dock.

Somehow, no ships were disembarking at this very hour. And no signs that a ship has disembarked a few minutes ago.

The ship that carried his Y was supposed to be here by this very moment.

X returned his gaze to Older Y, who was still watching him.

"What happened to her?" he asked.

"The same thing that happened to her the last time," she replied, looking down.

X faced her, as the memories began resurfacing before him.

The flaming train. His voice calling for his Y. Her hand that pulled him away from the flaming train as he screamed.

"What on earth's going on?!" he cried. "Why are all these things happening to Y?! What did she do?!"

To that, Y sighed.

"I think it's better to ask what _you_ did for all this to happen."

X's eyes looked broken as he returned his gaze back to the ocean.

"What did I do...?"

Instead of answering, Y gestured for X to sit next to her. X hesitated for a moment, but did so nonetheless.

It wasn't like he was going to find things out on his own.

Y straightened herself, and looked him in the eye.

"Okay, X," she began. "This might sound weird to you..." She paused for a moment, silently asking him if he's able to take another kind of surprise. X's face didn't change.

"...But you're not you right now..."

X looked skeptical. "What?"

Y sighed. "Rather, you're real body is sound asleep in your room at this very moment."

"Then... this is just a dream, then?" His eyes were beginning to shed some light of hope, which Y had instantly extinguished with her next words:

"A dream that will alter everything the moment you open your eyes in the real world..."

X's budding smile was obliterated completely.

"I'm confused."

Y bit her lips as she tried to find an easier way to squeeze two hours' worth of explanation in just ten minutes, but after spending one realizing that she can't, she opted to tell him whatever she can.

"Have you ever heard of this new technology that has been recently developed—oh what am I saying?" She giggled bitterly to herself as she shook her head.

"You don't exist that further in X's memory..."

"What?" X made a face as he went near her.

"Should I even tell you about Pinré Incorporated?" She bit her lips again as she casted him a doubtful look.

"I doubt you'll understand..."

"No, tell me."

"Okay." She lifted her hand tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "See, in the present, where you're _body_ currently exists there was recently this technology that was discovered. The power to alter memories."

Though his face still retained that puzzled expression, something from the way his eyes grew dimmer told Y that he didn't doubt anything she has said.

Which prodded her to go on.

"Now, Pinré Inc. is one of the very few companies that utilize that kind of technology, and is only known to few. They barely have a name in the region of Kalos itself—but that's not the point." She heaved another sigh.

"The point is... They utilize such technology for the sake of helping people forget a certain amount of memories, most especially those that regards someone. Simply put..."

She gave him a serious look, which X returned with a worried one.

"...They can erase a person from somebody's life. Completely."

X's eyes widened for a minute before looking down, appearing to be a bit pained.

Y just watched.

"...Am I trying to erase you?" he asked in such a weak voice, Y almost didn't hear. But even she did, she chose to pretend she didn't, and just stared at him, waiting to be asked to go on.

But X did not ask her to go on.

Instead, he stood up and walked a few inches away from where Y sat, towards the edge of the hill. He focused his eyes on the port once more, and watched as a ship began embarking into the great blue, all the while asking himself where on earth he should start questioning first.

What on earth was he then?

What was Y? _This _Y?

Where on earth was her real self?

Why was she here?

Why was _he _here?

His head ached for a moment as he realized what the real important question was. He turned abruptly to her, seeing that she did not move from her original position.

"Why on earth would I want to erase you?"

Y gave him a sincere oblivious look as she shrugged her shoulders.

She didn't know herself.

"Well, whatever it is," she began. "I'm pretty sure it's serious. Because I know for a fact that you would never make reckless choices. I must've done something _bad_."

"Or I have," he muttered, sinking back to his knees, pressing his palms against his face. They slowly slid down, first against his eyelids, his nose, until it ended on his chin.

Something was eating him from the inside.

"You feeling drowsy?" she asked from behind him. Surprisingly, he was.

"Don't let it get you too good." Y stood up and sat down behind him, holding his shoulders.

"You can close your eyes, but don't fall asleep too deeply," she warned, softening her voice as she neared to his ears. "Otherwise, you'll forget everything again. Remember X. Try your best."

X's eyes were feeling heavier as he slowly melted towards her, feeling her warmth against his.

"Stay with me, X."

His eyes closed with her face as his last image.

_Additional Entity still unknown._

**-END OF CHAPTER TWO-**

**Thanks for reading chapter two~ Yeah, a bit of an information overload, and not much action, I know. But please, kindly bear with me for the first chapters—they're really meant to "set the stage", as my friend would call it.**

**Also, I apologize for the rather "talkative" X here, and also the possible misuse of the different key places in Kalos. The first problem involves me not reading most of the X and Y chapters (except for the first parts), which explains my cluelessness with characterization. As for the second one, well, I never played any of the X and Y games, so I'm no particular with the plot, and thus, kinda naive to whatever is the significance of the cities mentioned (rest assured though, that I try my best to research everything online. Go, Gamer Guides!)**

**But, look at me, making excuses. Either way, I sure hope you guys would still be able to enjoy this despite my possible mistakes with regards to the technical things~!**

**P.S.: Yes, this fanfic was based on Eternal Sunshine to Spotless Mind. :3 Didn't want to say it until now, 'coz it might ruin the surprise.**


	3. She Will Not See You Again

**Hello~ *profusely apologizes for unforgiveably slow update***

**I will not dilly-dally anymore; to the third chapter~~~**

* * *

**Ruby-Throated Hummingbird Chapter 3 – She Will Not See You Again**

_Commencing memory-information scan…_

X's eyes opened to a small white room sprinkled with light blue and a small amount of mixed flesh and black. He blinks once, and slowly, the chunk of mixed flesh and black have slowly formed, and soon, he could recognize features: wide eyes, small smiles, and some even slightly reddish-noses.

He could see faces. Weary faces. Relieved faces.

Familiar faces.

"Where…?" he began.

"Ssh," a voice hushed him. X blinked again, and subtly moved his irises to the left, and found a familiar set of long blond hair just to his left. His eyes journeyed around its loose strands, and noticed the owner's arm, which he barely felt wrapping around his neck until the owner moved it, pulling him closer into what seemed like a frozen embrace.

"Hush," she said again, pressing her lips to his shoulder, making them brush against the cloth of his shirt as she spoke again.

"I'm here now, so everything will be okay…"

"Wha—"

X's eyes remained frozen as he stared in front of him. He tried to eye the faces one by one, silently naming each and every one of them in his head.

Family and some intimate friends, he thought to himself. The way they stared at him scared the boy to silence.

He moved his head a little, only half-listening to their whispers or relief and gladness. There was something wrong with this picture, but he couldn't put his finger in it.

That is, until he finally noticed the lone figure in one corner whose frozen frown plastered across her face has made her stand out amongst the other faces.

Y was watching him in his small tableau.

X gives her a questioning look, to which she replies with a nod, silently mouthing words with her lips, leaving her disembodied voice to simply play in his head:

"Just play along, X."

Confused, the boy obediently pressed his lips together and tried to "play along" in the best that he could. He couldn't see the person's face from that position, so instead, he directs his gaze back to the pool of faces who were also watching their small tableau, all of them looking at him with varied faces of relief, making him feel a bit uneasy at whatever was happening.

The girl embracing him must've sensed his growing confusion, for she finally lets him go, and settles to just holding his face gently, smiling to his face.

X couldn't believe himself.

The person before him, too, was Y. A younger Y.

"Everything will be fine from here on end now, okay, X?" she almost cooed to his dumbfounded countenance. "Because I'm here, and nothing will ever hurt you again…" She looked at him with expressive eyes.

"Okay, X?"

X blinked, but he knew better than to question things now of all times.

"O-Okay…"

His eyes went back to their small audience, feeling more and more aware of their gazes, making him feel uncomfortable. Y's face was still intact, still in front of him, and, despite his confusion, he shifted his gaze to hers.

Y's smile grows even tenderer as she spoke again.

"This time, I promise to you, I'll never leave you again…"

The other family members and friends have begun emptying the room in small groups in succession, and soon, younger Y had to get out of the room to make a phone call and such, but not without giving him one last goodbye:

"I'll see you, okay?"

And, just like that, he was left alone with older Y.

Both did not speak until the echoes of the others' voices soon died down as they went farther away from that room. The first one to speak was Older Y.

"So…" she began

"Don't worry, I managed to recollect my thoughts while my Y and the others were talking," he interrupted, freeing himself from the bundle of blanket he had found himself trapped in. "Although, unfortunate that I actually ended up waking up in the middle of something."

He sighs as he throws his covers away, and slides himself to the edge of the bed. Y walks forward and sits next to him.

"So, I'm in this memory, huh?" she muses, looking around. "Who knew there will actually come a time when I'd have to relive this moment over again…" Y sighs.

"Not really a good memory to relish…"

X had only watched her, his right hand flying to his left wrist, gently wringing it, feeling the newly tended cut sting from under his bandage. The pain seeps through his skin, making him remember everything too clearly: the bitter taste of arsenic on his tongue, the rough feeling it gives him as it travels down his throat, the amount of cold sweat that had already escaped his body as his family found him sprawled on the floor…

X shakes his head.

"I'm surprised that you're catching on fast, but I guess that's a good thing…" Y commented at him. "Saves us time…"

She follows X's gaze as the latter journeys his eyes across the blue and white ceilings all the way down to the wall containing the room's only window, draped over by blue, bird-patterned curtains.

Hummingbirds, she thought, tasting unpleasant bitterness rising from her stomach through her throat.

Why must she remember, too?

"By the way," X asks, looking at her. "I've noticed something while we were waiting for the room to be emptied of those other people… How come they barely noticed you at all?"

"Simple," she replied. "They couldn't see me…"

"Couldn't?"

"If you think about it, I'm not really a part of this scene originally. Pinré Inc's computers generates memory copies only through the data they have of a particular scene, therefore an unidentified virus like me can roam around without having my presence acknowledged."

"Virus…?"

"Well, technically, you can call me a virus—an unwanted corrupted file that was able to survive several deletion processes…" She slightly giggles. "I bet the people who are treating you right now are in shambles trying to find me."

The confusion in X's eyes remained, and Y figured it would be futile to just spit out random information, especially in a situation like this.

"Let's speak of this again later," she says, standing up. "We need to go."

X's expression changed.

"W-Wait, why?"

Y stood up, stretching. "The deletion process that destroyed your Y's from the other memory fragments will reach us here soon. We're lucky that it's not as fast as it was the previous times, therefore we still have time to go as far as possible…"

"Can we stop the deletion process that way?" the boy asks, standing up.

"Sadly, no," she says, walking to the window, pushing away the blinds, letting the noon sunlight in. "Not yet, anyway…"

X watches her as she pushes up the glass covering, and steps one of her legs over the window pane.

"The thing is, I'd rather take you as far away as possible from here before you get knocked out again…" She steps her other leg over, directing her feet towards the metal platform of the building's fire exit.

"Lessens the chances of you forgetting everything again."

She jumps off, lands on the metal platform, climbs on its railings, jumps again, and lands gracefully to an alley way. X follows along carefully.

His feet lands shakily on the ground, but nonetheless he recovers easily, swaying a bit as he walks towards Y.

"Guess your body's still weak from the treatment, huh?" she comments.

"No, I'll be fine…" He stares up back into the window, a wistful expression on his face. The image of his Y returning to an empty bed any minute from now doesn't seem like a pleasurable one to imagine.

"X?"

"I feel sort of bad for leaving her," he explains. "She might get worried."

To that, Y sighs an exasperated sigh.

"And here I thought you'd be used to it by now…"

X stares at her, confused.

"She's not going to see you again, X."

The confusion turns into hurt.

"Believe me, by the third or fourth time, you'll start getting used to it."

Together they tread the rather gloomy path that led them to goodness-knows-where. Not a soul was in sight, and, silently, the two thanked whoever it was generating this memory copy for this certain circumstance. Watching too much people moving around, talking, can be quite tiring to one's eyes.

Y, at least, had enough.

"I've been memory-hopping since the first quarter of the process," she suddenly began. "I've seen too much, X, especially now that the whole process is halfway done with you, so don't blame me if I know too much …"

There was a small glint of bitterness in Y's eyes, but it disappears as quickly as it appears, and she returns to their default, undecipherable expression.

X chose to convince himself that he had imagined what he saw.

"So, you said you're a virus," he prods, looking forward to avoid looking into her eyes again.

"Yep," she replies. "I used to be just a copied bit of information that holds a portion of your memories, those that were significant to the memory fragment I belonged to. But then, I was able to escape…"

X kept his eyes forward, afraid to look at whatever expression she was beginning to show through her eyes.

The high buildings around them were gradually disintegrating as they went on, and the ground was slightly shaking. No sound came with the destruction, but X might as well can feel all the panic this scene could've caused the townspeople, and it was surging deep within him.

But older Y was calm, and almost ignored everything, and, hesitantly, X did the same.

"To be honest, you're a virus too, X," she was saying. "But you're a 'good' virus; the one that 'absorbs' all pertinent information per memory fragment—the ones involving 'Y'—by reliving everything. And once the 'absorption' is done, the memories are purged from you while the image of Y is 'deleted' from the scene. Remember that train that burst into flames?"

She pulls X calmly closer, saving him from some falling debris. X took time to recover from the shock, but Y easily dismisses it as something normal, and carries on.

X, once again, hesitantly does the same.

"Uhm," he called after her. "This might come as a weird and out-of-topic question, but how come you're aware of all these 'deleting processes' and such? And how come you know that _I'm _the one deleting you?"

It was then that Y finally halts. Her shoulders tense for a bit, but she lets it go too easily, and looks at X with a smile.

"You told me so yourself, X!"

-…-

"_Look at it all out here… It's all falling apart!"_

_She walked away further, afraid to hear more._

_But, still he continues, his footsteps gradually getting faster, his voice getting louder._

"_Can you see it, Y?! You know of this! You know where this is leading! By morning, you'll be gone!"_

_He finally stops, and gives one last scream._

"_I'm erasing you, and I'm happy!"_

-…-

"After that, I reacted quickly, and escaped… I can't really explain into words how that happened, but the moment I found out what was happening, I can already follow your memory-hopping, except that I retain my memories, and you don't. That was until I succeeded in turning you into a virus, too."

X remains silent.

"So far, I've been to fourteen different memory fragments, including this one, and I noticed something: there was no specific sequence to the memories, except for what seems like their degree of importance to you, which is kinda vague in itself, because one moment I'm facing a younger X, and then one moment, I'm facing an X older than me. It's crazy…"

Y giggles again. X still remains silent.

"And it also makes my goal a little harder to achieve since the fragments that come after the one I came from involves X's who have no idea what the heck was happening. Which is why I need to go even deeper to your memories to know why you wanted to erase me…" She conjures up a bitter smile.

"Only then will I know what to do…"

She turns to X, wondering why he wasn't responding, and found X's broken eyes staring into the distance, making her heart stop a little.

Y knew this expression above all else.

"X?" she calls softly.

"I erased you…?" he was mumbling. "But why on earth would I do that? I… I'd never…"

"X, come on, it's okay… Don't… Don't burden yourself, X. You're still recovering from…"

"But, I…"

"X."

"But, Y, I…"

His voice was close to breaking, and Y was afraid of what he'll do next. She remembered how fragile his emotional stability was during this time, and for that she was afraid.

In a hurry, she tried to search for something else that could swerve the topic somewhere else. Anything.

"Say, remember that song you used to sing to me back when we were kids?" she suddenly asks.

X slowly stares at her, his eyes still broken, but there was a tinge of curiosity.

"Song?"

"I came across it again during my memory-hopping. You know… 'Oh my darling, hummingbird'?"

To that, X's curiosity turns to confusion.

"Don't you mean 'Clementine'?"

"You changed it to 'Hummingbird', remember? Your own rendition?"

"From what I remember, you're the one who gave me that nickname… Why would I make a song about my own nickname?"

"But you did," she argued enthusiastically. "That one that goes…" She begins clapping to the rhythm.

"_Oh my honey, oh my lovely…_"

She looks at him expectantly. He just stares at her, confused.

Until a small smile forms across his face.

"_Oh my darling hummingbird…_"

"Right!" she cheered, clapping some more as they mumbled the rest of the song.

"_Oh my honey, oh my lovely,_

_Oh my daaaarling hummingbird…_

_Nananana nananana…_

_Something something hummingbird…"_

And then they both laughed.

"I can't believe you remembered that!" X cried.

"I can't believe you sang that!" she threw back. "Man, you were sappy as a kid!"

"Hey, that was supposed to be a joke!"

"You're a joke, Hummingbird!"

The rest of the walk, they began reminiscing of their childhood days, and all the memories have made X suddenly aware of the necklace hanging around his neck.

His most prized possession: the plastic ruby necklace he won from a cereal box which he loved so much, though, he doesn't actually remember why. However, he does remember that Y had always wanted it when they were children, and always begged for him to give it to her.

As they sang the song again, trying to remember the rest of the words, his hand flew to his neck, feeling the plastic gem with his fingers.

He wondered why he never gave it to her in the first place, and wondered again if ever he would give it to her in the near future.

He remembers the last memory-fragment they were both in, and it made him feel even sicker, being reminded of what he was supposed to do at that time.

What kind of sick, twisted idea had occurred to him that makes him want to delete Y? He had always loved Y.

"You okay, X?" she suddenly asks.

The boy stares at her for a moment, before slowly nodding.

"I'll be okay, Y," he whispers. "I'll be okay as long as you're here…"

To that, Y snorts.

_She's doing all this just to prevent me from erasing her_, he thought to himself as they continued their walk. _I wonder if I'll really be able to save all these memories… _

"And what about that time you asked me if I'll marry you?" she asks, looking back at him.

"Was that a joke, too, Hummingbird?"

_Even if it was just one memory…_

"Maybe…"

_Just this memory…_

_Oh my lovely, oh my honey_

Y went on some more regarding their childhood as they went farther and farther from the city. Soon, he could see trees and vast grassland, and he knew that they were already treading a route that led to another city, although he couldn't it in himself to name the city where they have come from, or the city they were heading to, and neither could he think why he should.

He was supposed to say something when the sounds of crashing and utter destruction have begun filling his ears. He looks around frantically, looking for Y.

_Oh my darling Hummingbird_

She wasn't far from him, but this time, it was her that he couldn't hear. She was reaching her hand to him, and he tried his best to run to her, but somehow, all the noises mixing themselves in his head have made him confused, making him unable to veer himself to where she stood.

Y had realized this and she tried to run towards him instead, all while trying to dodge the falling debris, all seemingly directed towards her.

_Scan completed. Unknown entity found and marked. _

X's eyelids were growing heavy. He knew that he will conk out soon, and he hoped that he could reach Y before that.

He couldn't afford being parted from her now, and Y absolutely wouldn't want that either.

She springs forward, narrowly dodging a falling tree, and grabs X by the hand, just in time for X's knees to buckle. Y tightens her hold and pulls him to a certain direction.

The boy could not process what Y was saying to him, nor could he tell which direction they were going, and so he chose to let Y lead the way.

He barely knew anything anyway.

_Oh I love you…_

"X, stay with me, okay? Stay with me!"

_Oh I need you…_

"X!"

"Y…"

_Never leave me, hummingbird…_

_Hm?_

_What's wrong?_

_The patient… I think he said something…_

_Don't worry, that's very normal… I think the patient is going through one of the deleting process. Based on experience, they have got to be the most painful parts…_

…_This poor lad…_

_Have you found the virus?_

_Indeed, I have, Doctor._

_Good. May I entrust the special deletion to you?_

_Of course, Doctor._

-**FIN-**

**Yey, that concludes Chapter 3 ^_^ I'm sorry for the rather 'shitty' narrative—I'm trying to practice this new style in narrating, so I'm hoping you guys still get it, even if I did (try to) put some subtlety in the mix.**

**Chapter 4 might come a little later depending on how the rest of my school year will go, but I sure do hope you guys stay tuned :D**

**Thank you ^_^**


	4. She's Not Going to Stop for You

**Chapter 4 – She's Not Going to Stop for You**

_External Entity found. Commencing deletion in three minutes…_

X wakes up alone in a long and dark hallway to the sound of soft whimpers and the shredding of papers.

It didn't take long for him to take in the scenery, and remind himself of his current situation—which, to his surprise, came a little too faster than what he had expected. It had made him somewhat proud, yet a tad bit nervous just the same.

There was something wrong, or he may just be overthinking. Internally, he prayed it was just the latter and nothing more.

After a few moments of recollecting his thoughts, he went and opted to look for Older Y, while trying to search his mind of whatever memory he was currently in.

The sound of shredding paper grew louder, and he felt a small inkling to move his legs to where the sound was coming from. In sequence, the hallways illuminated as he went, like someone was actually turning the light switches one by one as he moved, making the path he's left lit and familiar and the path before him dark and ominous.

Where on earth was Older Y?

"Y?" he's heard himself call out. No answer, save for the earlier noises, seeming to gradually grow louder as he takes each step. He can almost make out words, and for whatever reason, all the words were too foul for him to even think of.

Where on earth was he?

Another portion of the long winding hallway was lit, and to his surprise, a window appeared next to him, giving him a wonderful view of the Aquacorde Bridge.

_Aquacorde…_

Why on earth was he in Aquacorde?

X thought to himself for a moment, trying to remember any key places in Aquacorde that he might have already encountered given the portion of memories he has as of the moment (somehow, all of Y's reminder have finally successfully turned him into a 'bad' virus as well, being able to transport memories along him like Older Y can) and only thing came to mind: The inn Y has been staying when she first ran away from home, back when they were teenagers, after her major fallout with her mother.

There was a small bitter feeling in his stomach, suddenly being reminded of Y and her dreams of becoming a pilot, and how it was being trampled by her own mother by forcing her to be an equestrienne like her instead. He remembered how Y always ranted to him about it back then, in their school, swearing to herself—and to a lesser extent, him—that she, no matter what happens, _will _become a pilot, even if it means supporting things on her own.

Exactly one day after their high school graduation ceremony, X has heard that Y had run away from home.

_But I've never been here before_, he silently argues to himself, continuing his trip down the almost never ending hallway.

He wasn't the one who found Y in Aquacorde—he actually never knew that she lived there that whole time, supporting herself and her education by doing various part time jobs. At least, not until she came home a few years later, after she found out that X had tried to kill himself after his parents' horrible end overseas.

X had to stop himself from vomiting. He just _had _to remind himself that.

"Y?" he tried again. And once again, there was no answer.

Even after she has returned to Vaniville for him, Y never actually _did_ return to her home there, seeing that she has practically forgotten that she had a mother altogether. The only reason why she bothers returning to Vaniville—according to what she herself has told him—was because of X. Because she loved X, and she never wanted him to be alone again.

At least, that's what she had said.

And, judging from how old X feels like, it may have happened at least three months ago.

So, what was he doing here?

The sounds of shredding paper and soft whimpering have grown significantly louder, and soon, X had finally met the end of the hallway. A door to his right was slightly ajar and a portion of light comes from it, along with the sounds that have been attracting him since he has awoken. Carefully, he tiptoed towards it and took a peek.

Only one person was in there, and whoever it was, it was thrashing all over the place, crying, ripping papers from the walls and from the desk, and then throwing them everywhere. He tried to look closer since it was dark and the figure was moving too fast, but he couldn't make much features except that it had long hair and…

"Y…?" he muttered, unknowingly pushing the door, furthermore letting himself in. The door squeaks softly, though it wasn't soft enough for the figure to not hear. She looked startled, looking at him with wide eyes.

X was frozen from where he stood.

"I, uhm…" he stammered, trying to think of a good excuse. But the girl wasn't looking for anything like that. Immediately, she went straight to where he stood, pushed him aside, and came rushing down the dark hallway he had just treaded.

His first instinct was to follow her—_was Y crying_?—but something inside him had told him not to.

_This isn't the real world_, he heard Older Y's voice speaking to him. _You can't follow her. She may as well not recognize your presence._

He took a long, dejected sigh.

_She's not going to stop for you._

X's next order of business was to find Older Y, but after seeing how Younger Y just disappeared into the dark hallway, he was afraid of going anywhere but forward, and so far, this room was the only available path, so he went in.

The room was cluttered with crumpled and shredded papers. Its walls were adorned with them too—snippets of once proud posters and drawings taped so lovingly to a wall now thrashed, torn and under his feet. He made it a point not to step on them as much as he could, but they were all over the place, it was almost impossible.

Every one of them read proud words and were coated with bright colors, all kissing the soles of X's shoes.

The boy felt his heart sink.

He came across a familiar looking piece, and picked it up.

It was Y's drawing of a plane, back from when they were still pre-school and they're teacher asked them to draw their favorite things. X drew a kangaroo back then, since he loved animals that much and once dreamt of becoming a ranger, travelling the region of Kalos and beyond, researching and learning everything he could about animals. He even thought of starting his own shows like those other, more famous rangers he would watch every Saturday morning.

But, of course, even he knew that that was a childish dream. He never actually thought of pursuing it. He never thought they were actually meant to be pursued.

Y, obviously, thought otherwise.

Everything was there, from her cute painting of the sky from their art workshops to her outstanding papers on aviation and aeronautics. All of them were shredded and tossed on the floor like they were nothing.

_Trash_, as Y would always call things she'd deem irrelevant.

He kept picking things up and unravelling them, trying to figure out to himself why on earth would that figure—which he had assumed to be Younger Y— do such a thing.

This was her dream—her beloved dream which she had sacrificed everything for—and now he was stepping over it like it was part of the ground.

What has happened here?

Another torn piece was sitting idly on her table, and it was a prominent one, for it was a piece of parchment paper, and it was torn so perfectly it was like she had ripped it carefully and hesitantly. He picked the two pieces up and put them together, reading the fancy-printed letters aloud.

"'_This Certificate of scholarship to Kalos School of Aviation is hereby granted to Y no Gabena for her outstanding performance and promising talent and knowledge of Aeronautics and Development given this 5__th__ of March, year of the Lord…_'"

X could only continue reading silently after that.

_Scholarship…?_

But she's told him that she didn't—that she failed, and that maybe her dream is not really for her to make true.

And then she told him that she has no reason to leave him again.

She said so on that day when he…

_I erased you…?_

X's heart was burning.

_But she said… You said… I…_

It was breaking, all its pieces letting each other go, going everywhere at once, and he couldn't catch any of them.

_Y was… Y was…_

He drifted his gaze forward a bit in hope of calming himself down, and found a small card from where the certificate had once been placed. Tremblingly, he puts the certificate down and picks the card up instead.

_Dear Miss Y, _it said. _Thank you for availing of our services. Please be reminded that your session will be on March7__th__ at 4:30 pm. Also, please make sure that everything that is in your possession that is related to Mr. X be brought along with you. Again, thank you, and have a good day._

He looked at the lower right corner, and saw that it was signed by a company logo.

_Pinré Incorporated_, it read.

"Pinré"…

_Simply put, they can erase a person from somebody's life. Completely._

The date had said March 7…He checked his watch—it read March 8th.

_Yesterday… She's already erased me yesterday._

Now, it was X's mind's turn to break.

But Older Y told him it was _he _who erased _her_.

_What on…?_

The door behind him squeaked open, and X turned to a flustered Older Y, breathing heavily, looking at him with wide, scared eyes.

"X, thank Arceus, I found you!" she exclaimed, kicking her way through the pool of shredded paper to get near him.

"There's been some sort of error with the transferring of information from one memory sequence to another… I was landed on the destroyed parts of the memory…" She reaches him and grabs his wrist, the amount of urgency unmistakably plastered all over her small face.

"X, they know I exist, and are finally seeing to it that I don't survive this memory sequence! We have to get out of here as soon as possible if we want to get to the next one in one piece."

At that, Y pulls, but X was still frozen in his tracks, his broken eyes still focused on the ground.

"X, what's wrong?"

"Y…" he started, holding the card up in his trembling arms.

"X…?"

"What… is… this…?"

Y looks at the card for a short moment, a look of recognition in her pale grey eyes. But if ever she's affected by what she's seen, it seemed not enough to make her stray from the more important matter at hand.

"We have no time for this, X," she pressed, pulling him even rougher. "Let's get out of here now!"

"No!" he cried, pulling away, trembling. There was something heavy forming in the pit of his stomach, making his whole body light as air, but his chest unbearably hefty.

He couldn't believe Y had lied to him. Y… The only person he trusted with his life. The only one he knew who'd never hurt him.

Y… _His _Y… His one and only Y.

"X…" Y called softly, carefully reaching out to touch his sleeve, but X will have none of that. He'll have none of all of this.

He'll have none of her.

"Don't touch me," he hissed. And before Y could say anything else, X had already pushed her out of the way and started running through the door, into the dark oblivion.

"X!" was the only thing he heard as his legs led him to the dark abyss that quickly and welcomingly swallowed him whole.

-…-

X finally falls on his knees in exhaustion. Luckily, there was ground to catch him as he let himself catch his breath and his overflowing emotions.

He hated this. He hated this part of him.

Why couldn't he get mad like a normal human being? Why must everything inside him tremble? Why must his lungs cease functioning? Why must his own throat constrict, and choke him to his own death?

X's hand flew to his throat.

Maybe death wouldn't be so bad?

_No, X, not this again…_

The boy tried to pause for a moment and take another deep breath before looking up again.

A familiar splash of beige and green flashed before him, and even in that state, he could tell he was still in Aquacorde city, but most likely miles away from Y's house.

He made a point to turn around. Y was heading to where he was fast.

X was up on his feet running again.

He didn't want to see her. Not even _look _at her. It was all too much. Everything was suddenly different, and for the first time in years, X had felt alone again. X had felt like everyone was against him.

For the first time in years, X had questioned if he should still stay.

And he hated those feelings. He hated that he had them, and he hated those things that triggered them.

So he ran, and ran fast he did, unknowing of where his already tired feet would take him. And these tired feet were able to drag him to Aquacorde Bridge before they broke down again.

X knew that he had pushed himself too hard, and was on the brink of breaking.

He couldn't run anymore.

"X!" he heard Y's voice get clearer and the sound of her footsteps gets nearer. It was surprising, how the same voice that was his solace can become the voice that caused him dread.

Her voice was breaking him to pieces.

"X…" Y called again, softly this time. The sound of her footsteps have grown clearer and louder, but they were gentler, meaning she was now walking, and carefully at that.

Afraid she might scare the poor injured animal away.

"Don't come near me," he hissed again, pulling himself up with the help of the bridge's side. It took tons of effort for him to grab the concrete, and even more to use it as support.

He could feel his palm bleed internally.

"X…" Y pleaded again, taking a step forward. "There's no time for this."

"I said 'don't come near me'…"

"X…"

"Don't push me, Y…"

"X, please…"

"_DON'T COME NEAR ME OR I'LL JUMP!" _His voice reverberated across the vicinity, its echo bouncing off the magnificent beige walls of Aquacorde, filling this stone-built city with his sound of desperation.

Y stood where she was, frozen.

"X, don't…"

"So help me I will…" X warned, still clutching on the bridge's wall with his hand. The other one, unconsciously held on more tightly to the small card that weighed so heavily despite its size. His eyes pierced through Y's shaking body like a spear.

"X, if you kill yourself here, there's no telling if your body in the real world will consider it real or not…" Y reasoned.

"You might not wake up…"

"Maybe that's better…" X grunted bitterly.

"X, don't do this now… We're so close to stopping this from even happening. Don't break now."

"Close to what?" X cried. "Y, you want me gone, and now you come to me telling me to help you stop this?!"

A stabbing pain passed through his head, making him wince. He feared he might fall again, and Y would take that chance to come near him and haul him to wherever she wanted him to be.

And the boy has had enough. He's done being hauled just to and fro without his consent. For once, he just wants time to himself to think.

Or…

"X, what do you want to do?" Y cried. "Do you want me to beg? Do you want me to plead? Because I will do _anything _for you to trust me in this…"

"Then tell me what _this _was doing in your desk, Y!" he cried back, showing her the card. "Why… Why did you lie to me?!"

Y sighed. This wasn't supposed to be part of their conversation. She would've succeeded in getting through all of this without having to face _this _adversary. Even she was surprised to find that card there, and what luck that it had to be X who finds it first.

She opens her mouth to conjure up a proper explanation, but instead of that, something entirely different escaped her lips.

"_Hello, X. This is doctor Lani, one of Professor Sycamore's assistants_," she said, her eyes widening with fear and surprise.

X looked at her with the same expression.

"Y…?"

"_We are both from Pinre Incorporation, the company who promised to help you with your distress. We are joyful to tell you that we are halfway through with the operation, except for one minor virus that got lost in the data manipulating process."_

Y was crying, but she couldn't move, save for her own lips which she now couldn't control. X could only watch in confusion, dumbfounded.

"…_But rest assured that we have it under control._"

"Y, what's happening?!"

_Initializing virus deletion._

To X's surprise, Y robotically faced her body to the bridge's wall, climbed it, and looked at the river that flows underneath it. Its recent peaceful flow was suddenly replaced by a strong current that can destroy even a city. The transition was almost too quick for even X to process.

When he felt his legs finally, he ran towards her and reached out for her leg.

"Y, no!"

But Y wasn't listening. She was only looking at the strong current, as if she was waiting.

And against X's constant screaming, she faced him, and said in her soft, loving voice:

"_Now to continue with the process…_"

And then she jumped.

X watched in horror as Y's body was easily engulfed by the roaring waves, and in pain as the river gradually calms down and reverts back to its peaceful state.

Y was nowhere to be found.

Before he could say anything, he began to feel dazed and dizzy, and felt like vomiting. But he as he grunted, nothing came out but his own tears.

His hand was still outstretched to that living image of Y falling to her death, and it was the last thing he remembers as his eyes grew heavy, and drew to a close.

Not even in his head did he hear Y asking him to stay with her.

_Virus deletion completed. Memory-deleting process 87% completed._

-**FIN-**

…**Yeah. Pretty heavy as heck, but it gets heavier, don't worry. (Or worry even more?)**

**Again, sorry for the uber late update again. The good news is that class has ended so I MIGHT have time to update a little quicker. Let's just see what happens **

**Thanks again for reading guys! **


	5. She Will Be Gone

**A/N: Yes, yes. I know I said that this story was in hiatus, which is why I'm a bit surprised too. I guess real-life family problems can never the stop the fan-writer within me. **

**Or this could just be my coping mechanism ;w;**

**Either way, hope you enjoy the fifth chapter!**

**-…-**

**Chapter Five: She Will Be Gone**

_The process has stabilized, Sir…_

_That's great. We can now be rest assured with a smoother sailing of the rest of the deletion. Good job, Doctor Lani._

…_Is there anything else that we can do?_

_As of now, none. Aside from monitoring the patient. You're free to get some rest for now…_

_No, it's fine, Doc._

_Are you sure?_

_I'd rather stay here in case you need me, Doctor._

…_If that's what you want then…_

The night was getting deeper, and yet the Prism Tower was in full life as citizens and tourists alike gather on the highest of its floors, patiently waiting for the much-anticipated annual fireworks display. Everyone was accumulating by the portico, trying to get a suitable spot that can give each one of them the best view.

But all were moving and pushing in vain as the greatest spot possible was already occupied by a young couple, standing next to each other in silence, fingers intertwined as they listen to each other's breathing, waiting for the next words to come.

…_Doctor?_

_Yes, Doctor Lani?_

_Do you like poetry?_

_Poetry?_

_As in… poems… Rhythm and rhyme?_

_I know what poetry is, although… Why ask all of a sudden?_

_Well, I've always liked poetry. I find it amazing that some people can actually put in so much feelings and emotions within the constraints of rhyme and rhythm. It's art…_

_Hmph…_

_And… While I was watching this boy's expression for the whole of the process, this one poem came to mind._

_Oh?_

_Are you familiar with Ranier Marie Rilke?_

_I've heard his name from time to time… Why?_

_He wrote this poem I was talking about. It's called 'You Who Never Arrived'…_

"Pretty, right?" X asked, adjusting his hold to the girl's hand. The girl just nonchalantly nodded her head, not taking her eyes off of the breathtaking view of Lumiose—Kalos' capital city—bathed in both artificial and natural light.

X bit his lips, fidgeting with his necklace with his free hand as he tried to find the next words to say. Y was too silent. And she has been this way for the past few days. It made the boy uneasy, as Y was always the outspoken one in the same way that he was always just the listener.

It's either something was wrong, or that he was just overthinking. Again.

"You know," he began, feeling his voice suddenly hitching as Y finally averted her gaze away from the view and into his blue-grey eyes. Y had pretty eyes, he stupidly reminded himself.

"W-When you told me that you've never seen Lumiose during nighttime, I thought 'what a waste', since, for the most part of my travels, this is the second most beautiful thing I've ever seen…"

"Second?" Y repeated with a knowing smile. X awkwardly nods.

_The first one is you._

Y suddenly smiles, her shoulders shaking slightly as she let off a giggle.

"Well, I'm glad you brought me here," she said, returning her gaze. "I've been in Lumiose thousands of times, but I never really tried and see its night life… At least, not from its highest point." She looked up at the boy.

"I never really knew you can come in here without having to reserve. I've heard you needed to go through hell and back to even get a reservation here." She eyed the tourists as they struggled around the portico. "And on these days too."

X smiled shyly as he lowers his cap.

He just did.

There was a soft tapping from somewhere, and X turns to one of the higher rooms, and found Clemont, the tower's concierge and a good friend of his, looking down at him. He raised a thumbs-up sign to X together with a wink, and X returns with a nod.

A crucial power outage almost destroyed this city, and Clemont and the rest of the city wouldn't have been able to do anything without X's help. It was thanks to the vast knowledge of interacting with wild animals he's gotten from reading books that he was able to drive the beasts stopping Clemont's team from fixing the plant. And although it was a bit of ease for someone like X, Clemont still insists that X should be thanked appropriately, and so starts X's endless nights of trying to convince Clemont through phone that it was indeed nothing, and no, he does not need to arrange for X to be able to reside in the Prism Tower with him.

And then X found out about the annual fireworks display and the privileges people like Clemont had by actually having easy access in the highest point in Lumiose.

X stares at the small smile forming in Y's face and he couldn't help but proud at himself.

For once, he did something useful.

_That sounds like an interesting yet saddening title…_

_Doesn't it? It's one of my most favorite poems… I've even memorized it! _

_Really?_

_Yeah… I can be a geek like that…_

_No, no! I think… I think that's nice… I would to hear it…_

_Heh… Okay. It goes…_

_You who never arrived__  
__in my arms, Beloved, who were lost__  
__from the start,_

"Hey…" he called out softly, and despite the noise everyone was making, Y heard it. She turned abruptly, looking up at him with wide questioning eyes. The boy bit his lips, trying to suppress away whatever hesitation he had left before speaking again.

"Before the fireworks begin and we lose the chance to talk, can I say a few things?"

Y looked at him questioningly, but nodded nonetheless.

At that, the boy took a deep breath and placed his fingers around his necklace, and then took it off. He willed himself to examine it one last time before grabbing Y's hand and placing it there.

"X, your favorite necklace…" came Y's breathy voice.

X bit his lips and smiled.

"When I was a kid, there was this brand of cereal I've always loved. I forgot what it was called because you and I both know that I care not for those kinds of things." X bit his lips again as he pressed it even hard to Y's palm.

"All I know was that I loved it, and I always looked forward to when my parents come home from working overseas with truckloads of that cereal, just for me."

His breath was hitching and his voice was failing him. X tried his best to contain himself before continuing.

"Now this brand," he continued, raising one hand to wipe a tear away. "It has this gimmick where one every fifty boxes would contain a prize. And the prizes differed. And I know that you know me well enough to understand that I wanted that prize so badly that I would religiously finish each box with so much bravado that it almost became the only component of my meals." He held her hands tighter.

"But then my parents died, and… things changed. And around that time, I was close to finishing the last box I owned, and the morning before your mom came to my house to deliver the bad news, this necklace fell out of the box." He rubbed the plastic gem with his fingers.

"I really thought it was a stupid thing to win, and I was supposed to throw it away and try again, but then…" He bit his lips as the tears just came flowing.

"Yeah…"

The girl acted immediately, and in gentle, deliberate movements, he enclosed the shivering figure in her slender arms, rubbing her hands against his back affectionately.

"Y…" he breathed, breaking away and wiping his tears. "For the whole part of me suffering at the death of parents, you were there. And even if I am possibly the worst person to be with when emotional, you put up with me. Two years is too much, even for me. But you stayed…" He looked at her in the eyes tenderly as he smiled through the tears.

"Thank you."

_I don't even know what songs _

_would please you._

Y, too, was crying. They both were, and they stayed like that for a few minutes before X was able to clear his voice and finally got what he wanted to say.

"Happy anniversary," he said. "Please never tire of taking care of my heart, and I hope that I am still enough for you despite what I am."

Y looked up at him tenderly, ready for her reply. But as she opened her mouth to speak, loud booms filled the air as the fireworks began.

X was momentarily distracted as his head was turned to the evening sky, mindlessly letting Y's hands go.

_I have given up trying_

_to recognize you in the surging wave of_

_the next moment._

The lights blinked and danced along to the sound of distant booms mixed with the "ooh"s and "aah"s of people. X's shoulder's jolt every now and then at the sound of explosions, but nonetheless, he couldn't break his gaze away. The lights have hypnotized the boy and it was pulling him towards the edge of the balcony.

"X?"

His eyes widen even more as the fireworks get more intense, and his lips slightly part at the thrill of watching the sparks fall towards them but fade away before he could rech out and catch them.

"X?"

_All the immense images in me_

"Y!" he cried excitedly, turning his head to the direction of his beloved. It was dark, but still he could feel the sea of faces looking back at him. None of them was Y's.

There was sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Y?"

_the far-off, deeply-felt _

_landscape, cities, towers, and bridges,_

The fireworks grow intense even further, and the people around him get over excited, and start crowding to the front, where X was standing, frantically searching for Y. He could feel the bodies pushing against him, making him freeze a little as he tried to excuse himself, shouting for Y's name.

"Y!"

The dark night flashes and dies in a subtle rhythm, giving him only snippets of images of the crowd, making it almost an impossible of a chore for him to find her. But still, he knew that even in broad daylight, he might not be able to find her.

She's nowhere to be found.

"Y!" he cried again, pushing aside a body only to be blocked by another. It was as if everyone at that portico was there to hinder him from advancing.

"Hey," he was shouting. "Excuse me! I'm trying to—HEY! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU PUSHIN—_HEY_!" A large man lunges forward and pushes him harshly, letting him fall to his bottom. X was about to lash out at the man when the man suddenly disappears as a debris fell to the space between the both of them.

The boy couldn't believe his eyes. He looked around, and saw even more debris falling in scattered places, narrowly missing the tourists. And yet, they didn't seem to mind, and just proceeded in trying to get their own good spots.

Prism Tower was falling down, and none of the people seemed to notice it.

A child was sauntering somewhere with a crepe on her hands, and X watched as she along with the other people paid no heed as a piece of falling metal just hovered above her. He acts quickly and thrusts himself forward, pushing the child away.

The two of them crashes at the tiled floor. The people just walked over them.

"Little girl, are you okay?" he asked as he laid the girl in his arms. The nonchalant look on the girl's eyes confused him.

She gently breaks free and saunters off, leaving X sitting on the ground again, dumbfounded.

_and unsuspected turns in the path_

_and those powerful lands that were once pulsing with the life of the gods_

"Y…?"

He tried to stand again, trying his best to find her despite the thousands of unfamiliar faces flashing before him and the rather unending blinking of lights that made his eyes strain.

"Y!"

His head was pounding, making him wince. Still, the people just walked over him. Ignored him. Stepped on him.

_Where was she? Y… Y was nowhere… Y was… Y was deleted…_

X's eyes popped open.

_Y was deleted. _

He raised his head, looking at scenery obliterating in front of him.

_Y was deleted by the process. Y is gone._

His face contorted into pain.

_Y is gone._

He tried to stand, but gravity pulled him back to the ground, and he just lied there, listening as the sound of concrete breaking and metals bending loomed over him like a eulogy.

_Y is gone…_

_all rise within me to mean you_

And on cue, his eyes begin to spin and ache and just kill him, but he doesn't move. He doesn't curl up into a ball, nor did he scream. He just focused on the tourists' feet as they move around him, indifferent. Tears streamed from his emotionless eyes as he waits for this memory to be deleted as well. The same way his Y was deleted. The same way his Y from earlier memories, as well as his Y in the memories to come, was deleted.

The same way Older Y was deleted.

He just allowed it.

The same way he just allowed Older Y to leave him.

"Hummingbird…" he moans.

Because he knew that no matter how much he cried or run, he couldn't stop this anymore.

_you who forever elude me._

… _Doctor? What are you doing?_

_I'm only resetting a few memories back to re-erase them. The virus has proved to have destroyed a great deal of information—enough to require us to go through them again._

_You mean…?_

…_It has to be done, Doctor Lani._

X opens his eyes, silently wondering to himself if he really did fall unconscious, even for just a little bit. Because he certainly felt like he didn't.

It was as if the whole time he was suffering from another dizzy attack, his whole being was still conscious, still aware of the silent destruction happening around him.

He raises his head a little, and looks around. The place was now covered in complete and utter darkness.

With some effort, he was able to push himself to sit up. He examined his surroundings again, and found that the room wasn't just _dark_; it really was just an endless space of pure black. The ground he stood on was black. Hissurroundings were black.

Everything… Everything was just pitch black.

"Hello?" he called out. No one replied. Not even his echo.

X involuntarily cupped his hands against his shoulder even though he wasn't really feeling cold. In point of fact, he wasn't feeling anything at all but pure emptiness. It was as if he was at the pit of his own mind.

And what are the chances that he wasn't?

"_And how was Unova?_"

X's head immediately turns to the source of his own voice. Suddenly, his surroundings began changing. Shrubs, trees, and fields of grass were filling the scenery. The distant blaring horns coming from what seemed like ships can be heard, and the smell of saltwater wafted through his senses.

All of a sudden, he was in Cyllage.

"_Unova was fine, albeit tiring. Too urban for my tastes. The skyscrapers were so high, it makes me wonder how planes can even fly over them._" It was Y's voice. It was Y's voice giggling happily with his own.

X couldn't believe his ears.

He followed the two voices as he ran through the fields of Cyllage, feeling the sinking feeling in his stomach grow worse.

This was a memory that was supposed to be erased way before. Why were they playing it all over again?

He hurried himself, and it did not take him long to find the X and Y from this memory. And he had come just in time to reach the scene which had made this memory special.

X watched as his other self goes down on his knee and presents a small, red box to Y. He's never seen so many emotions collate into one expression the way Y had done as she looked down at X.

He remembered only seeing the surprise and joy in Y's eyes that time, but now, as he looked at her from where he stood, there were so much more in those eyes.

Distress. Doubt. Fear. Frustration.

They were all there.

X looked to the ground and sighed.

How blinded was he? And for how long?

X sighed as he pushed himself to turn his head away. As much as possible, he wanted to preserve that memory the way he had first remembered it: joyous. But after seeing that, he was just happy to remember that it _did _happen. Even for a short time, he can tell himself that he was happy.

Before they erase everything for good.

He takes a step forward, and finds the grassy field shift again, from fresh foliage to white tiles. The smell of saltwater was replaced by the smell of antiseptic, and the sound of ships blaring turned into soft murmurs of people in white shouting commands at one another.

X was now in a hospital, in the middle of an almost full hallway, ignored by doctors, nurses, and normal people alike. And he ignored them back. He was too busy reminiscing.

"X?"

He turns, and finds Y looking at him, her eyes wide with surprise and worry as she walked towards him. X had never felt more afraid.

"X, what are you doing out of your bed?" she asked, grabbing both his arms with concern, completely oblivious to fact that she was talking to an X one or two years older than her.

The boy just watched her, a grim look in his eyes.

"Come," Y said again, gently grabbing him by the hand, pulling him. "You need to go back to your room. You're still unwell!"

But X wasn't listening. X was too busy feeling his heart ache even worse as her hand held onto his even tighter. X was too busy forcing himself not to cry.

Y's hand… Y's hold… It all felt so compassionate that it made his chest burn.

At this time, did Y love him? In this very moment, was she sincere? Or was everything, even from the start, just her being trapped in the situation, having no choice but to say the words she had uttered and had kept on uttering to him?

Because her touch… her voice… her… her everything—they all seemed so real. So real that it hurts.

"X, what's wrong?" Y asked, reaching up to brush away his tears. "Why are you crying? Where does it hurt? Tell me…"

"Please, stop…"

Y looked at him with concern.

"Stop. Or I'll believe again."

"What…?"

He raises his hand and gently brushes her hand away so he could wipe away the tears on his own. It was about time he learned how to.

"X…" Y grabs his hand and pulls him to the waiting area where several rows of chair stood. It was almost half empty.

Y leads him to an empty chair at the front row, and pushes X to sit down. It was only then that he realized that he was immensely exhausted and he wanted nothing but to lie down and close his eyes and disappear forever.

"Tell me what's wrong," she said, holding both his shoulders.

"I'm tired…"

"Well, if you're tired, then you shouldn't have…"

"I'm not the real X…"

"What are you talking about?"

X looks up at her, and watches her face, trying to find whatever he could point out that he can use to convince himself that she was lying—that it was all just an act.

But there was none, and X hated himself for even falling, even if it was just a little bit.

He looked down and choked on his own voice.

"I'm not X…" he said again. "I'm not your X…"

Y only blinked in sincere concern. "What are you saying?"

X winced, feeling a lump forming in his throat as he tries to open his mouth again.

"I'm not your X…" he repeated in a constrained voice. "You…You're not my Y…" And with a final choke, he added: "My Y is gone…"

"But X, I'm here…" Y replied, holding his face in both her hands. She lifts it up gently, making him face her. It took the boy more than enough courage to let his eyes meet hers, and what he saw only confused him even more.

Y's eyes were tired no doubt—the dark circles under her eyes were weighing her beautiful blueish grey orbs down, but still, despite the weariness, there was sincerity. There was love.

There was Y. His Y.

X wanted nothing but to throw up.

"I'm here, X… I'm not going anywhere anymore. I'm here. I'll never leave you."

"But you _will_!" X cried, pulling his face away from her grasp. He almost stumbled off of his chair from the force but was able to pull himself together before he could. However, in the heap, he made a mistake of looking at Y's eyes again, and the pain was just as worse as falling.

Her eyes were filled with so much concern.

"You will…" he said again, softly this time. And weakly. His voice trembled along with the rest of his body.

"One day. You will get tired of me… And all this!" He gestures upon his whole self, trying to see if her expression will change—he knew that she knew what he meant.

But Y's face remained intact. Her eyes barely moved to follow his hands. They remained in his, and it was killing him. It was killing him that his whole body was reacting positively to her stare.

He feared that he was falling too desperately without a fight.

"You'll get tired of me one day, Y… Because you will have to sacrifice everything for me—your dream, your life, your happiness…All of them! For the sake of this broken piece of crap who's never done anything good for you… Who did nothing but complain. And cry. And whine. And hurt you…" He bit his lips as tears began swelling in his eyes. His muscles eased up as he lifted his hands to his eyes and whimpered.

"And you'll want to forget me," he whispered. "Forget you ever made this decision. Forget you ever met me…" He sobbed like a child—something he hasn't done in years. His shoulders trembled and his voice hitched, disturbing his words with occasional hiccups.

Y could only watch, afraid of what he might do if she touches him. X knew it wasn't going to be pretty if she did.

"And then one day, you will. When it's already too late, you'll forget me. And I… I'll forget you, too."

_I'm erasing you, and I'm happy!_

X bit his lips to stop them from quivering, but he couldn't. It only made him feel worse. It only made his lips bleed, and this time, not with hurtful words of farewell, but with real blood.

And for once, X could finally feel the pain of these lips—the numbness of saying something while meaning another was now gone.

Y's hand was already crawling their way up his trembling arms, and thankfully, X was not acting as violently as anyone of them would have expected. She tried her best to catch his gaze as she did, and when she's finally reached his shoulders, their eyes were once again locked against each other. Before X could say anything, she immediately pulls him in and wraps him in a tight and loving embrace.

"…I love you so much, X."

X could only cry even more as he looked up, trying his best not to give in and hug her back. Because he knew she will leave. She will be gone. Like the rest of his Y's, this Y is going to disappear.

His Y will always disappear. He should've known that.

"I'll never, ever leave you behind. I'll always love you…"

"You don't mean that…"

"It's fine if you think that way."

"You don't… You don't mean that, Y… You don't…"

X dared open his eyes and he watched breathlessly as the walls begin crumbling down and the ceilings begin caving in. He watched the floors crack and doors as well. He watched the posts and the plants sway, and he watched as everyone but himself ignores everything and just go on with their businesses. Just like that. Just like they always did. They walk over him, ignore him, all unaware that his world was crumbling before him.

Only Y stayed. Only Y understood. Only Y…

Y moved a little, but nevertheless regained her hold on him. She lifted her face to free her lips from his shoulder.

And then she began singing.

"_Oh my lovely, oh my honey…_

_Oh my darling Hummingbird…"_

He finally looked down at the girl whose arms were wrapped around him, and silently reminded himself that this destruction marks her disappearance as well. They will pull her away from him again, and leave him chasing her shadow until he tires himself. Until he had no voice to call out her name.

"_Oh I love you, and oh I need you…"_

Tears still in his eyes and his voice still broken, X buried his face in Y's soft, blonde hair, and he wrapped his wiry arms all over her calm and serene body. And there, he continued crying. He continued reminding himself that this may be the last. The first and the last time he will hug Y.

"I don't want this anymore," he whispered. "No more… I don't want to lose you anymore…"

And slowly, ever so slowly, Y's body faded in front of him, and even if X could already feel her body slip away from his arms, he still kept his eyes shut, and his face buried.

"Don't leave me, Hummingbird…"

He remained until everything was gone and all he could see was pure, utter darkness. All there was now was him, the clothes on his back, and the small plastic ruby he was now clutching in his trembling hands.

He made a mistake of examining it and found that it was gaining cracks. Rapidly.

"No," he breathed, feeling his voice hitch again. "No! No! Please no! Not this memory! Not this one, please!" He clutched on to it tighter, pulling it close to his body as if to protect it.

"Please let me keep this memory," he pleaded. "Just this one memory! Please!"

He looked up and screamed:

"Doctor! Can you hear me?! I don't want this anymore!"

He looked down and found that the ruby was still breaking.

"I don't want this anymore…"

He opened his eyes carefully, hoping that something must've changed. But he was still trapped in that endless, dark room, still wallowing over the recent loss of yet another of his Y's. And still fearing of how many times more was he to experience the pain again and again.

Slowly, he let his lips part, and a soft melody escaped them.

"_Oh my darling Hummingbird…"_

He straightened himself and looked at the plastic ruby. There was no stopping its destruction.

"_You were lost and gone forever…"_

X has asked himself multiple times in the past if ever he deserved everything that life has thrown upon him, and this time—this is the only time—he was able to actually tell himself, that yes, he did.

He deserved this.

Before his very eyes, the plastic gem shatters, its lusterless remains floating in front him. X's eyes were grim as he eyed each and every one of them before looking down again, feeling numb.

"_Dearest sorry, Hummingbird…"_

_Memory recollection complete. Initiating processing of the final memory fragment._

-END OF CHAPTER FIVE-

**Sorry for the possible grammatical mistakes. It's already 11:40 and I have class tomorrow and my muse is screaming at me to post this regardless.**


	6. She Gives Him Another Smile

**Uhm… Happy almost one year since I last updated...? **

**Chapter 5—**

_Initializing the final memory fragment. Preparing for final procedures._

X wakes up to the sound of Church bells, the gongs hammering through his throbbing head, making his whole body churn with pain. It took effort for him to open his eyes once more, the scars from what transpired just before still fresh within him—still crisp and clear and sharp and damaging.

But he still did, and he welcomed the feeling of slight relief to know that he was nowhere near that darkness that he was in. The whole scene was once again filled with the light of daytime, the early morning's rays tickling his face as he lay there on the graveled ground, conscious but unmoving.

The boy moved his eyes around, trying to take in the scene with what minimal perspective he had given his position, and all he could see was the sky clear from any clouds, its cerulean glory unobstructed.

A small flame of warmth ignited within X. One he has never felt in a long time. It made him want to cry for a moment, but somehow, no more tears would come out anymore.

X can finally safely say that he has cried enough.

With a heavy grunt, he convinced himself to push his limp and almost lifeless body up from the ground, and as he did, the image of a tall architecture made itself more clear and pronounced to his perspective.

A church.

The boy journeyed his eyes down and up the construction, trying his best to remember where this was and what it had to do with him, but no matter what he did, he just couldn't.

Then a thought occurred to him:

_How on earth am I still aware?_

Vigilantly, X looked around, afraid that the memory sequence from last time was still not done, and that he was still being paraded to more memories for him to watch be destroyed. His eyes scanned the whole scenery, trying to find another form of life that he needed to be wary about.

All the color in his face has drained again, completely destroying what measly form of relief he had allowed himself to feel earlier on. But as he mentally listed down everything he's seen—from the small, man-made lake just next to where he was lain down, to the vast grass fields and the beige-colored paths that stretched across the whole vicinity —he's realized that, aside from the birds that chirped along with the gong of the bells, he was indeed alone.

A small but flourishing pain stabbed at his left temple.

_Those church bells…_

X hasn't completely regained enough strength to stand up, but he's regained complete awareness to feel annoyance, and somehow, the peal was filling him up to the brim with irritation.

It was enough to make him stand up without even thinking twice, and what resulted from the sudden spring was the feeling of instability. His legs trembled from the sudden weight, and he had to bend over for a moment to let the dizziness past.

And as soon as it has, he looks up again, beholding the image of the church once more.

X doesn't remember being in any form of church.

_Am I still…?_

With a deep breath and hollowed determination to see what he may not want to see, he began marching towards its half-opened gates.

-…-

"H-Hello…?"

X weakly pushed one of the tall, heavy doors, enough to make a small crevice to let himself in. With a grunt, he was able to squeeze through, coughing as dust coming from the door's side began flying around him.

Dusting himself, he looked around.

It was a grand church, but it was old. Its arc-shaped ceiling stood high up, filled with faded images of indiscernible figures and symbols. Its walls were donned with tall pillars outlined with intricate patterns, symbols, and cracks, all painted cream and blue, all faded over the course of time.

There was no lighting, and the whole place was fairly dim save for the portions being hit upon by the morning light, seeping through the Church's small, half-circle shaped windows.

X takes a step forward, gradually lowering his gaze to the ground he was walking on, watching as the dust that flies from the carpet where his foot lands would fly up, glittering upon the rays of sunlight, and faintly hypnotizing him.

As how it was outdoors, X couldn't find anyone inside. He considered going back outside to continue his investigation, but he's noticed how the gongs of the church bells are barely heard from inside, and thus, for the sake of his own sanity, he decided to stay. At least until the sounds would stop or until he's grown indifferent to its detestable sounds.

Whichever comes first.

X reached the one of the pews situated at the farthest back of the church, and grabbed its end. He traced his fingers on the ornate carving just to its side, marveling at how much this church had dedicated to its design, and dreading at the same time how these designs have been put to naught as the whole place has obviously been abandoned.

With a remorseful sigh, he drops himself to the seat, coughing again as more dust flew up around him. Wafting the particles away from his face, he focused on the altar at the other far end of the church, lazily eyeing the empty niches and the dusted table.

A thought occurs to him.

_How beautiful but fleeting._

His nausea from a while ago overpowers him the second time. With a deep breath, he pulled his head back, to the indiscernible images just above him, and simply listened.

Now that he's cleared his mind from the gongs, he can strongly convince himself that he can hear faint, unfamiliar voices. Conversing voices. Slightly arguing voices.

_Doctor, is this really necessary? It's just…_

_The order was that we erase _every_ instance of the girl in his memories_…

X swallows hard, noticing that small cracks were beginning to form along the ceilings intricate designs.

It was beginning.

_Including this…_

X knew better than to fight this one off. Wasn't that exactly what they were trying to do since the moment he's met Older Y?

_Older Y…_

He's surprised he can still remember her. Not really saddened nor overjoyed.

Just surprised.

Slowly, X began closing his eyes, readying himself to submit to whatever it was that was going to happen. If this church was to crumble down into pieces, then he will simply stay there and close his eyes until every single piece inside it is gone.

Until he—a virus that contained every single memory of Y, both beautiful and painful—is finally gone.

He wondered if the next time he opened his eyes would be the time when he's back to a reality where he's ridden of Y for good.

He wondered what that life would be like.

X was about to drift back to sleep when the faint sound of an organ playing brought him back to consciousness. He opened his eyes for a moment, and found that he was still in the same church, looking at the same ceiling. The boy briefly searches his immediate surrounding, and found nothing.

The boy closes his eyes again.

_Must be just me…_he thought to himself. But still, he focuses on the tune, and, not long after, he was able to discern it as a familiar tune.

Something he's never grown tired of singing.

"_Oh, my lovely… Oh, my honey…"_

X unconsciously hums the next melodies to himself.

"_Oh my darling, Hummingbird…"_

Then X suddenly stopped.

It was either just him, or the music was getting louder and more pronounced.

He listened for it again, and true enough, someone _was _playing somewhere nearby.

Promptly, he straightens himself and opens his eyes, and the scene that meets him came as a surprise.

The church was suddenly brimming with life.

All the cracks were gone, the paintings more refined, and the whole place was filled with the scent of flowers. Filled with awe, he scanned his eyes around again. Each pew was now decorated with white, fancy cloths, and on each of their sides, a small bouquet of flowers was perched. The doors behind him were now opened wide, and the aisle that led to the altar was covered with a long, velveteen red carpet.

But still the church was empty.

X followed the red carpet with his eyes, all the way to the platform, and realized that he wasn't entirely alone. For just in front of him, a figure donned in full white stood straight, looking up to the altar as well. The boy tried to recognize who or what the figure was, but seeing that it was standing way too far from him, there was no way of telling.

Letting his curiosity get the best of him, he stands up and starts walking down the aisle, trying to push away his fear that this was most certainly the trigger to the 'final erasing'.

Soon, he was able to reach the end, and was able to make a more refined image of the figure, and upon realizing who it was, X could feel his heart break once more.

"Y…?"

Said girl turns to him, a kind smile on her face.

"Hello, X…"

X's eyes quivered as he traces her figure from head to toe and back, feeling his whole body tense as the memory of him pleading and her jumping and a raging river slowly calming began plaguing his already plagued mind.

He couldn't believe it.

"You were saved…?" was all he could say between slow, careful breaths. Slowly yet mindlessly, he reaches forward, his body still in doubt despite his mind.

Older Y simply smiles, taking his trembling hand and enclosing with her long, tender fingers.

"It's okay…" she cooed. "I'm real." Then with a short giggle, she adds: "At least, as real as your memory sequences will allow me."

X just watches her, and then their hands locked within each other, and then her once more. Older's Y smile grew even more at the image of his confused eyes, and it drove him even more perplexed.

"But… But how?"

Older Y simply shakes her head as she follows his stare the next time he lowers them to their hands.

"I'm not really sure myself," she admits, letting her other hand envelope both their hands. "The last thing I remember was me begging that you listen to what I had to say, and before I knew it…" She gives him a short glance, and then extends her look to the scenery behind X: the lively setting donned with white cloths and pastel-colored petals.

"God, this church is beautiful…" she sighs.

"Y, I'm confused."

"So am I, X…" she whispers, her eyes still focused beyond him. "So am I…"

Then she smiles as she lets his hand go.

"But I still have my assumptions…" she says, grabbing a part of her long, flowing skirt, as if to adjust it. Then she tries to walk a few paces, performs a few steps in place, after which, a look of relief spread across her face.

"... I think this has something to do with our interactions from some memory fragments from before. Yes, they were able to get rid of me, and it would've been the end of everything if it weren't for the fact that I was able to 'corrupt' you."

She gives him another smile. He still looked forlorn.

"You're technically a 'virus' now, same as me."

Older Y starts reaching behind her back, trying to detach her long-flowing train. After about one try, she immediately gives up, and looks at X with a sheepish smile. X, despite his confusion, still works as he was programmed to do: be there at Y's beck and call, even if he himself do not even know what exactly was happening.

Carefully, he steps forward, and tries to find his way in unbuckling the unholy amount of cloth from the back of her dress.

"...And because they're almost done with the obliteration, they brought me in here with you." X looks up at her in surprise, his hand already holding the detached train in his trembling hand. Y turns to him, and the third smile she shows him was weak.

"They brought us here so they can destroy us along with your final memory. This is their way of eliminating everything for good."

X's eyes widens for a moment, but much to Y's surprise, they immediately turn supple as he pulls the train near to his chest.

Somehow, the statement, though hurtful, barely surprised him.

"This is it, the last memory fragment ..." he mumbles, his voice slowly breaking. "This is the part where I lose you forever."

Y smiles ruefully, walking a few paces to where he stands, and touches his face. X, though slightly surprised by the sudden feeling of warmth on his then cold cheek, immediately welcomed her heat, relishing to those moments when her touch was all he needed.

Now, her touch was everything he needed.

"Not yet," she whispers tenderly. Then she giggles.

"Technically, you only forget me _after _they've erased everything, including you and me. We have until then…"

X takes that moment to inhale deeply, and exhale slowly. Then he looks at her again.

"...What should we do until then?"

Y smiles even wider.

"Enjoy it."

Giddy like a child, Y grabs X's wrist and leads him upward to the elevated platform, towards the altar. X eyes the tall structure for a moment, taking in every single image before looking back at her. Y was still looking up, as if in deep prayer, and he took the chance to have good look at her.

One long, meaningful look.

As he did, his right absent-mindedly felt for the ring finger to his left, and felt nothing.

"Y…" he then whispers. "Are we…?"

The girl, instead of replying, simply looks at him, her peaceful expression unchanged.

X looks up.

"But wait… How come I don't remember this?" He scans the whole room with his wary grey eyes.

"How come I don't remember this scene at all?"

He looks back at Y, just in time to watch her beautiful, almost-frozen smile, slightly break as she looks elsewhere.

"...Because you never showed up, X."

-...-

"Surely, you still remember finding out about my appointment with Pierre, right? Regarding erasing you?"

X swallows heavily, but nonetheless nods.

Y simply smiles ruefully.

"You ran away that time, a little too soon before I could explain anything. Though there wasn't really much to explain."

A sour taste played around X's mouth. He wanted to follow-up a question, but the look in Y's eyes told him that he wasn't going to like her answer.

So he chose to keep mum and listen.

"You… Disappeared after that," she continued. "For a really long time. And when you finally came back…" She shrugs.

X found himself continuing.

"I already made an appointment with Pierre…"

Y nods.

"I begged that we talk about what you found, but you already told me about your appointment, and that _you _will push through with it. Then we started fighting… Hurtful words were told, voices raised… Frankly, I don't remember much of what we said, but I do remember me having enough, and walking away..."

"_I'm leaving, X… There's no point in fighting about this…"_

"_So go… Just go! Isn't that what you've been wanting all along? To leave? I'm a nuisance to you, after all, right? Just go! I don't need you to be happy!"_

"_Goodbye, X… We'll talk again once you've cleared your head..."_

"_No, Y… Once I've cleared my head, we'll never talk again… You know why?! Because _I'm_ erasing you and _I'm_ happy! I'll be so… damn… happy… So so should you.. So you can grow back the wings I've cut off from you…"_

"...After that, I remember traveling overseas to live with relatives in the meantime. I was very much filled with rage and pain that it took me some time to realize what you really meant when you said, 'grow back the wings I cut off from you'." Y smiles again, but this time, her eyes remain focused in front of her, as if her smile was directed to something X couldn't see.

And X wasn't sure if he wanted to see it at all.

Then Y raised her head again.

"You know, this wasn't supposed the be the church we were gonna have our wedding in. We can't afford something as pretty as this."

She chuckles for a moment, making X feel a little warm inside.

Y's laugh always made him feel that way.

"This," she continues, her smiling fading once again. "This was probably just how you pictured everything when we first planned our wedding. Or maybe even before that…" She looks at him.

"And for this to be the final memory fragment… Your dream must probably be the most important memory you have…"

That was the time when Y's voice finally broke. Tears start streaming down her face and her shoulders start shaking violently.

"You must've really wanted this wedding so bad…" She starts wiping her face inelegantly with her hands, much like how she'd do so when they were kids. Y rarely cries, X remembers, but when she does, X always found himself wanting to cry as well.

Y was so brave. For her to cry over something… That something must really be scary.

And true enough, everything that has happened them… All the hurt, all the pain, all the anger…

They were the scariest things X have seen in his life. And he's seen plenty.

Not knowing what to say, X simply steps closer to the sobbing girl, and collects her tenderly in his arms. Y welcomes the gesture, and presses herself tenderly and longingly to his body. She lets him wipe away her tears with his thumb, and she blushes slightly when he leans forward and brushes his lips against her forehead.

They stay like so for a few short moments, rocking gently as they both hum the soft melody that they've been singing longingly to each other since they were kids. The song that they vowed to keep on remembering, even after all that's been said and done.

They sing it for one last time.

_Oh my honey…_

_Oh my lovely…_

_Oh my darling Hummingbird_

_Oh I need you_

_Oh I love you_

_Never leave me, Hummingbird…._

With a sigh, Y gently breaks from X's hold, and tries to conjure up another smile.

All of a sudden, the task became harder.

"I have to go…"

X looks down sadly at her, but he nods either way.

"So go…"

"I did. I thought you didn't want me anymore, after what I did. But you just wanted me to go after my dreams instead." She smiles at him again.

"You went out of your way to without even realizing that you were my new dream…"

It was X's turn to finally cry. His face breaks for a minute in tears, and Y reaches up and wipes them away with her hand.

"I wish you stayed," X whispered.

"Oh, X…" Y cooed tenderly. "I wish I stayed too." Then she snorts.

"_Now _I wish I stayed… I wish I did a lot of things. I wish I…" She looks up at him, and he could see the tears fighting away her still shining smile.

Y shakes her head as if to shake the sadness away.

"I wish I stayed."

X smiles and pulls her in again, hugging her tightly-something he wasn't able to do since they were engaged.

He, too, wished he did a lot of things.

"I went to your house, you know," he said. "To return your things to you. But your mom said that you left…"

"I moved out. Went straight to Hoenn without even looking back."

"Why?"

"I was scared…"

"You were scared?" X blinks.

For someone like Y, it was unheard of.

"Yeah. I thought I was putting you through more harm than relief. I wouldn't have forgiven myself."

"Was it something I said?"

"Yeah. You said 'so go'... With so much disdain, you know?"

"I'm sorry…"

"It's alright…" Y sighs, lifting her face from his shoulders.

"But you know, I still thought you were going to wait for me… Even after then."

"I did," was X's immediate answer, but the look in Y's eyes made him want to take it back.

If he _did _wait, they wouldn't be here in the first place.

X bites his lips in frustration. Then he slowly breaks away from the embrace so he could take both her hands, and envelope them gently with his.

"It will be different," he said firmly. "If we could just give it another go around."

Y looks at him like he was mad, but his eyes were as firm as his voice-so different from the timid and quiet X she's found herself caring for. Then she looks up at the church's ceiling.

It was beginning to fall apart.

Then she looks back at him.

"Remember me," she found herself whispering.

X does not react.

"Remember me," she said again, louder this time. "Try your best."

Then she finally smiles.

"Maybe we can."

The whole church was falling apart, but just like in the memory fragments that X admits that he will never ever see again, there were no sounds. All he could hear was the sound of his own breathing, in sync with Y's. Then they both giggle.

"You know, it's kind of a waste…" she pointed out. "How we never pushed through with this wedding, considering we paid for it and everything."

X chuckles slightly.

"Yeah, you're right," she chuckled with him. "It would've been a disaster if we had."

"Besides," X whispers. "If we were to get married… I want it to be in a church like this… With you in that dress…"

"You can do still do that…" she pointed out jokingly. "Like, right now."

X thought for a moment, and nods. Then, despite Y's surprised face, he takes her hand, and looks up at the altar.

"I, X," he said in the loudest way he could, lowering his gaze at the still dumbfounded Y. "Do take you, Y, to be my lawfully wedded wife"

"X…"

"To have and to hold, from this day forward… For better, or for worse... For richer, or for poorer... in sickness and in health…"

Y looks down as she feels something smooth being pressed against her palm. She turns her hand up, and found a small, plastic ruby.

The girl bites her lips as she forces a smile.

"...Until death do us part."

Y looks up at him and finds him smiling. Then she looks down on the plastic gem for a few moments before burying it beneath her fingers.

"I, Y…"

One of the giant chandeliers falls a few paces from where they were standing, but the two barely moved, their hands and their eyes still locked with the other.

"Do take you, X, to be my lawfully-wedded husband…"

She takes a sharp intake of breath, and starts sobbing. X puts his finger under her chin and lifts her face up. Y looks into his eyes, and after a short moment of simply looking into each other's eyes, she continues.

"To have, and to hold… From this day forward..."

She wipes her tears with her hands, much like a child. X could only watch her so fondly.

And sadly.

"...For better or for worse... For richer or for poorer… In sickness and in health…"

Another large piece of debris falls, and hits the altar. X gently moves Y towards him, far enough for the scraps of wood and cement to miss the girl. Y allows him without much of a struggle.

"...Until death do us part."

They look at each other with a smile. Then X holds her face with both his hands, and leans forward.

"May I now kiss the bride?"

And the two kisses as the whole church crumbles down.

_Final fragment obliteration complete. Operation status: success._

**-END OF CHAPTER FIVE-**

**There's a big possibility that I may have posted this still with numerous grammatical mistakes. But I might forget to post the moment I get drowned in work. Still, hope you guys liked my update ^_^ This is the second to the last chapter :) See you until then, guys!**


	7. She Remained

**Chapter 7 - She Remained**

X wakes up to the sound of his phone's blaring ringtone, and what meets him is his bland, ochre ceiling. He eyes it for a short moment, blinking away whatever sleep he had left in his eyes. Then he turns to his side, lazily reaching for his phone perching innocently on top of his desk. Wincing a bit from its backlight's glare accentuated inside his rather dark room, he reads out the caller ID.

_Tierno._

X sighs for a second before pressing 'answer'.

"Yes, Tierno?"

"Hey, man, where the heck _are _you?"

X's brows furrowed as he sits up.

"I'm in bed…" X replies monotonously. He grabs his alarm clock, and gives it a disdainful look.

"Same as what _normal _human beings would do at 5:30 in the morning…"

"Wait, so you're not going? Again?"

X lifts his phone from his ear to give the phone and the caller ID another long look before replying.

"Going where?" He shakes his head in confusion.

"What?"

He could almost hear Tierno's eyes rolling from the other side of the line.

And Tierno was the most patient among all of them.

"Look, I'm sorry, alright?" he whispers, trying another approach. "I just woke up from what seems like the longest evening of my life and…"

Tierno sighs from the other line.

"It's alright," he says, his voice calmer now. "No need to apologize. I understand."

There was a pause.

"Heaven can only know what you're going through right now…"

X raises a brow. But he agrees with him nonetheless.

A weird Tierno is better than an angry Tierno. Always.

"Anyway, what were we talking about again?" he asks, finally lifting himself up from his bed. "Where am I supposed to go?"

"In Kiloude. Remember that we were supposed to hold Trevor's birthday today...?"

At that, X's eyes widens. He hurries to turn on the light and looks at the calendar on the wall beside the switch. Then he pulls down the page for the month of February, and true enough, March 1st was marked in red.

_Trevor's Birthday._

"Shit," X hisses, running to his dresser, pulling out random pieces of clothing. "Oh God, I am so sorry. It must've completely slipped my mind…" He pulls out a pair of pants, examines it for a moment, and throws it away in disdain.

"What time's the party again?"

It took Tierno some time before replying.

"...Wait, so you're going?"

X pauses from rapidly folding his underwear with one hand to look disbelievingly at the direction of his phone.

"What kind of question is that?" Then he snorts as he pulls out one of his bigger bag packs from under his bed, wrinkling his nose at the dust that greeted him as he did.

Tierno seems confused.

"Ah, well, last year, you were…" Then he paused suspiciously, enough for X to once again pause from his rapid packing to stare at the phone ID another time to make sure Tierno was still there.

"Tierno?"

"You know what? Forget it," Shauna's voice suddenly chirps. X's eyebrows furrow once more, but he does not question.

"Hi, Shauna," he greets half-heartedly, slowly returning to his initial business of dumping everything into his bag. "Fancy hearing from you again, and from Tierno's phone, too."

"Hello, X, please move your ass a little faster please," was the girl's snarky reply.

"I would have if your boyfriend would stop being vague."

"Hah, such a riot as always, you darling piece of crap." Then Shauna's voice become a little bit serious.

"But, kidding aside, I must say I'm proud of you. Finally learned to stand up and move on? We're all thrilled for your sorry butt."

"I don't know what you're talking about…"

Shauna snorts. "Sure you don't."

X rolls his eyes.

He really didn't.

"Anyway, I'm dropping this call in hope that _maybe _you'd reach at least the final parts of Trevor's party," Shauna drawls.

X sighs. "Whatever."

He hears a small and soft intake of breath from the other line–Shauna was smiling.

"I think it's about time you start forgetting about Y..."

At that X, pauses, and looks at the direction of his phone, just in time to hear the 'click' that ended their call.

"Y?" he thought aloud to his phone.

"Who's Y?"

-...-

The voice from the train's PA system echoed across the whole carriage, loud enough to penetrate through X's earphones. With a grunt, he pauses the video he was watching on his iPad, looks up for a moment to catch a few words from the announcement, deems it irrelevant, readjusts his earphones, and resumes.

_March 1_–just like that, it's Trevor's birthday once again. X couldn't believe how fast the days have gone by. It seems like only yesterday when they all got together at Tierno's place to throw both a birthday and farewell party for their aspiring scholar friend, and now, here they were getting together once again to celebrate both Trevor's birthday and his second year anniversary of living in Kiloude.

For some strange reason, the last two years elude him. Like everything had happened without him knowing or noticing, but then, come today, all of a sudden, he's aware.

X had been feeling lost since.

The boy sighs as the video suddenly pauses. He steals a glance out the window as he waited for it to buffer.

Not that he wasn't engulfed in a feeling of disarray ever since the beginning. As a matter of fact, he's gotten so good at it, his friends had stopped worrying about him and his living alone for quite a long time.

And he greatly appreciates that. The last thing he'd need is to know that he's pulling other people down because of what he was.

X suddenly returns his glance to the video he was watching, and he realizes that it had ended without him knowing.

With a resigned sigh, he hovers his finger to where the _replay _button was, but stops himself immediately when he notices one of the suggested videos, and found a title which contained a familiar name:

"_[THROWBACK SERIES] Putting the 'Y' in 'Fly': Youngest Pilot to Take to the Skies"_

X thought to himself with recognition. Thinking for a minute, he clicks, and what plays before him was a relatively old twenty-minute documentary of a supposedly famous pilot. As he listened to the interview, he scrolls down to the video's description and some comments.

"_Yvonne Gabena, nicknamed Hummingbird by fans and followers alike… Daughter of famous equestrienne, Grace no Gabena… Youngest pilot to have graduated from the Unova's Aviation Academy after pursuing an accelerated course of study under a lavish merit scholarship… Is currently a young professor and official regional consultant for aeronautics at the Kalos School of Aviation…"_

X blinks at the giant wall of text with a hint of amazement.

"Wow," he mumbles. More scrolling.

"And, she's my age, too…"

The video was still playing as he went through even more of the comments, most of which were praises or flirtatious feedback from the watchers, and since he only half-listened, he could only pick up a few lines from the interview.

"_...Wow! What remarkable achievement, and from such a young lady to boot!"_

Childish laughter.

"_Next question, Miss Hummingbird–"_

"_Please. Just call me 'Y'. That's my nickname!"_

"_...Y. Of course. Miss Y."_

More laughter.

"_Your mother, Grace, is an excellent equestrienne, and in earlier interviews, she's mentioned that her daughter was to follow in her footsteps and be her greatest rival. What made you suddenly shift into the fields of aeronautics, and how did your mother react?"_

"_Well, I'll be honest, my mother wasn't very pleased when she first heard of my choice, but it didn't take long for her to realize that not even words can stop me and my dream." _A pause.

"_Sorry, mom."_

Laughters from the audience.

X, too, had to suppress a giggle.

"_Amazing, Miss Y. Amazing. But do tell us this… Why Aeronautics? Of all fields to consider, why take on something… out of this world?"_

More laughter from the audience.

There was a slightly long pause before the girl named 'Y' could answer. Long enough to make X scroll back up to catch the girl in the video smile one of the most charming smiles he's seen in his life.

"_What can I say?" _she says, half giggling_. "I'm just that in love with the sky!"_

"In love with the sky, and yet here I am taking the train to Kiloude… What bull..."

A giggle was heard from behind X's neck, and soon he was aware of a looming presence peering from his back. Shocked and frightened, he turned his head abruptly and backed away, only to find himself face to face with a familiar set of blue-grey eyes staring him down cheerfully.

"Hi, there," she greets, smiling. X could only blink at her, his body still growing progressively tense. He clutched onto his iPad warily and just watched her as she leaned over the back of his chair.

Again, the girl giggles.

"Sorry," she laughs. "I was sitting a few rows back and overheard what you were watching. I got curious and had to come near to verify if you really were watching that crap." She pauses to focus her stare on his iPad.

"Why _are _you watching that piece of crap?"

X still remains frozen, except that his legs had already felt the strain from staying in his position that he had no choice but to straighten himself. But still, he backed away from her for good measures.

The girl tilts her head a bit.

"Well?"

"I'm sorry?" X finally returns to his senses to manage a response. "You… '_overheard_' what I was watching?"

The girl blinks at him innocently. "Well, yeah. Your volume was up that the whole train could hear you."

X's brows furrowed. He grabs hold one of his earphones and traces it down all the way to the other end of the wire, and true enough, the headset was not plugged in. That means he's been watching an hour's worth of animal documentaries with the audio on full blast, and for sure, the whole train now knows how giraffes reproduce.

The boy's hand sends itself flying to his face with considerable force.

_Stupid._

"I am so sorry," he whispers with contempt, turning off the device as he eases himself back to his seat. He then dumps the gadget back to his backpack along with his earphones, and zips the bag close with disdain.

The girl stayed where she was, an amused look in her face.

"You're funny," she points out, walking to the side of his chair. "I like you."

X chose not to respond, and retains his embarrassed and irritated glare towards the window, hoping the scenery of Kalos speeding past him would ease away the nagging feeling. But his attention was soon reverted when he felt her presence loom over him. He makes a mistake of turning his head to her previous direction and finds that she's already clambered up to the empty seat next to him, and was already invading his personal space.

The boy presses himself against the glass window in fear.

"Say…" the girl begins, nearing her face even more. "You look familiar. Have we met before?"

X's eyes involuntarily darted elsewhere, to where his bag was placed. To where his iPad was placed.

He highly doubts her question. In his many years of existence, he swears he's never intermingled with any celebrity before.

Especially not this one whom he's only heard of two hours ago.

X returns his gaze to the girl, and found that she's still staring at him intently, her blue-grey eyes shining with sincere curiosity.

"I-I don't believe so…"

"Are you sure?" she presses, her face now contorted into confusion. "I'm pretty certain I've seen you before…" Then she backs away, giving the already breathless boy room to finally breathe.

Still she remained on the seat beside him, her two fists now perched on both sides of her waist, her face connoting that she was in deep thought.

"Could it be that I've seen you in television? I did watch a lot of random things growing up..."

To that, X's stomach sank.

He begins to shift uncomfortably in his seat, trying and awkwardly succeeding to regain his initial position before this girl just popped out of nowhere and scared the living hell out of her.

The girl notices his expression, and immediately waves the thought away.

"O-Oh, don't mind me!" she stammered. "D-Did that last statement made you feel uncomfortable? I'm sorry! I-I have this tendency to just spray things out of the blue. I think it's one of the many reasons why I'm still single... N-Not that that last statement was necessary, of course…"

Then she pauses, and starts laughing.

"Oh my God, look at me… Losing it at every cute boy I get to talk to… Cheeze and crackers, Y, you dork."

At that, X returns her gaze to him, catching that rare moment when a person's laughter dies down, and is replaced by a small casual smile.

X thought it was lovely.

Then a thought passes through him, and he immediately had to slap himself mentally.

_You don't know her, X._

Again, he tries to grant himself another peek, and watches as she starts another series of rants, not listening to any word she's saying. He got a good look of her face, and the long, wavy blonde hair that framed it. They all looked too animated from where he sat, so far away from the rather coy features she's displayed in that interview.

It was enough to make him doubt if this girl really _was _who he thought she was.

The girl catches him staring at her.

"Yes?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

To that, X's shoulders jolted, suddenly at a loss for words to say. He finds himself looking to his side, back to where his backpack was placed, and this time, the girl follows his gaze.

Then a look of recognition washes through her face.

"Yeah," she says with a grin, almost sheepish. As if she was embarrassed or something.

"I didn't feel so hot that day because I was eating myself silly backstage. Can you believe how good the food is in a production's buffet? I swear to God, those caviare and patte were peering through my dress! How embarrassing…"

X just blinked at her. To which the girl reacts with a plain smile and her hand stretched outward towards him.

"I'm Y, by the way…"

X looks at her hand for a moment before hesitatingly reaching for it.

"X…" he says, in a meek voice.

"Hi, X! I like..." Y chirped, suddenly breaking away from their awkward handshake to reach for his necklace.

"This ruby hanging around your neck…"

X again jolts in surprise. His hand flies to the said ruby, just in time for Y to pull hers away. She giggles, in the very same way she did in the video.

"I'm sorry. That must be important to you…"

X had to look away again, uneasy. Bad memories were beginning to plague his mind upon the acknowledgement of the plastic jewelry.

"I…" he begins, his voice soft and almost inaudible.

"This is nothing. I just got it from a cereal box."

"Well, it's gotta be important," she argues gently. "Otherwise, you wouldn't hold on to it like that." She drops her gaze to it once more momentarily.

"I bet someone special gave that to you."

X bites his lips to stop the quiver.

"Not really," he whispers. "It just… It just reminds me of something."

Y's eyebrow raises itself. "A fond memory?"

The boy gives her a short glance.

"No… Just a memory."

"I doubt it," Y counters, finally rearranging herself in her seat. "I mean, why would you keep it if it reminds you of unpleasant things?"

X's eyes turned grim.

_You don't know me_.

The sound of Y snapping her fingers calls back his attention.

"I bet you're trying to hold onto a fond memory but realized you can never bring back, so you hold onto that ruby, which is the next best thing, instead."

X just blinks.

"Nothing wrong with that, I guess," she goes on, leaning back.

"Though, based on experience, I can pretty much tell you that makingmore fond memories will always be better than holding onto just one." Y sighs.

"After all, memories are simply fragments of the fleeting present. If you keep holding onto the fragments,you might just lose track of the whole…"

She smiles as she reaches for the ruby again, letting it swing a little with a slight push from her finger. This time, X does not resist, which genuinely surprised him.

"Associate some new memories into that ruby, wontcha?"

X slowly reaches for his ruby again, this time not out of haste. He absentmindedly strokes the plastic edges, thinking for a moment.

Then, he finds himself smiling.

"Yeah," he whispers. "I guess you're right."

The conversation was left at that. Silence engulfs them both, as X feels his then tensed muscles gradually , he raises his gaze and sees her fidgeting with her fingers, eyes darting everywhere.

Just as he had thought.

This girl can't last long without conversation.

He had to suppress a chuckle.

But Y hears him nonetheless. She snappily turns her head to him, looking slightly offended.

"What's so funny?" she asked hostilely. The boy shakes his head, pressing his finger to his lips to prevent his laugh from escaping his lips.

And he was failing.

He looks up to her again. Y looked unconvinced.

"So," he begins, unaware that he just strayed away from his principle of never starting conversations with anyone.

"Hummingbird, huh?"

The girl's expression immediately changes. She looks enthused again. And slightly exasperated.

"I know what you're thinking," she says in a playfully accusing manner. "And I'm telling you right now, even _I_ don't know the answer…"

X's face drops. "Huh?"

She laughs. "You know… Why 'Hummingbird'? You're not _just _a pilot–you're many things! And even if you're _just _a pilot, why hummingbird of all birds?"

"Oh." X needed to dart his eyes elsewhere again–there was something about her that made him not want to stare for too long.

Or perhaps it was the fact that he wanted to look at her all day that was making him resist.

"So you chose 'hummingbird' just because?"

Y seemed taken aback. She leans back once more, looks up, and then bites her lips, as if in deep thought.

"Actually… no." She looks at him.

"I have a personal reason," she says slowly, making X feel like it was something he shouldn't have asked.

But then again, this girl looked like the kind who, even for her own good, had no ability to keep anything for too long.

And true enough, she starts talking again.

"I had someone call me that when I was younger," she recounts, looking up. Her face looked like she was going through hell by trying to remember. X considered stopping her.

"It was so long ago, you'd think I'd have forgotten it by now." She giggles softly, and X watches as it faded away quickly. Like she was remembering something she wished she didn't.

There was a sinking feeling in the boy's stomach. He looked around for a moment, trying to muster up the courage to try and continue if not change the topic with a more positive tone.

Moments later, his voice finally returned to him.

"Did… that person ever tell you why 'Hummingbird'?"

The look in Y's face changes, but only slightly. Her brows furrow even further as her bottom lip is buried under her top lip. Then it disappears as she smiles again. Ruefully, this time.

"No, he never did," she says softly, her eyes softened and focused elsewhere, as if in deep thought. "He just said, 'hey, you're a hummingbird, you know that?' and then left it at that." Then she shrugs, now completely returning to her initial disposition.

"I don't know. Maybe I'm just pretty fast-paced and hopelessly noisy."

To that, X smiles.

"Not necessarily." He focuses his gaze to the floor for a moment before returning it to her.

"There's more to a hummingbird than being fast-paced and noisy."

Y's smile grows wider.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Did you know that a hummingbird is the only bird that can fly in reverse? It's actually one of the reasons why a lot of people find it to be one of the most interesting birds that exist."

Then, X stops himself, feeling embarrassed all of a sudden. That's the most words he's said in a sentence addressed to a stranger, and it worried him somehow.

But the look in Y's eyes scared away the anxiety, and replaced it with something warm. Something X was not quite familiar with.

Her eyes sparkled with the most genuine image of wonder and curiosity. X was overwhelmed.

"No," she whispers. "I never knew that." Then she smiles again.

"That's actually kinda amazing."

X finds himself smiling back. "It is." He hesitates for a moment, but after giving it some thought, he throws caution to the wind, and continues:

"When I was younger, I liked animals so much that I would read every existing book about them that I could get my hands on. But at some point, I stopped…" His lips part slightly as he tries to suppress the internal tremors that passed through the entirety of his being.

"Then, at this really unfortunate portion of my life, I came across another book: a whole photo documentary about hummingbirds, and though it wasn't technically as informative as my other books, it still struck me to know that there's a bird out there who can fly in reverse. It may seem like a simple feat, but for us people who have no choice _but _to fly forward… I think that ability is magical."

He turns to her and gives a small shy smile

"I think your name is magical."

Y's smile has softened, he noticed as he spoke. It was as if the explanation calmed her down as well. When he was done speaking, she lets her face conjure up another enthused smile before looking forward at nothing in particular.

"So that's why you called me just that."

X's brows suddenly furrow in confusion.

"Huh?"

"_Arriving at Kiloude Station in three minutes. All passengers, please…_"

"Oops, that's my queue." Y suddenly pulls herself up from her seat and starts walking down the aisle. X follows her movement with his eyes, confused.

The girl turns to her with a sheepish smile.

"I should be getting back to my manager," she says apologetically.

At that, X's eyes and his shoulders drop. "Oh."

"But it was nice meeting you, X," she smiles. "You, by any chance, live around Kiloude?"

X again hesitates, but nevertheless proceeds to shake his head.

"...No. I'm just here to visit a friend."

"Oh? How far have you gone?"

More hesitation.

"...Vaniville."

To his surprise, the girl suddenly cheers.

"Vaniville? Get out! I'm from Vaniville too!" Then she shakes her head good-naturedly, letting her blonde, soft curls ripple like curtains over her shoulders.

"What are the odds?"

Then her head turns to her left, a troubled look on her face.

"Uh-oh. Manager's giving me the look. I should really go." She flutters her fingers as farewell, and starts walking again. X watches her from where he sat, the way she strides so confidently yet elegantly along the almost empty corridor.

It was beautiful, but something about watching her back as she strode away made him hurt a little.

Legs shaking, he suddenly pulls himself up and calls out:

"Wait!"

The whole of the train, including Y, turn their heads to him. X shrinks back for a minute, but the expectancy in the girl's eyes made him a little brave.

"S-Since you live in Vaniville…" he begins, his voice unamusingly hoarse. X never hated himself as much as he did right now.

But Y's eyes connoted that she heard, and that again enough for him to continue.

"M-Maybe we could see each other again some time? Over coffee?"

Soft murmurs began to fill the train car and it made X want to sink somehow. His excessively sweaty palms gripped to his seat like it was his life, and his eyes fell to the floor. Now he regrets even saying anything.

But then the girl's giggle prevents him from falling into despair.

"If, when you go home, you still remember me..."

X looks up, and finds her smiling at him.

A sweet yet _oddly _familiar smile.

"...Maybe we can."

-**FIN-**

**And that was Ruby Throated Hummingbird! Oh my God, this was the longest 6 chapters of my life. I can't believe it took me **_**this **_**long to finish. At least I'm finally done ^_^ I mean, yeah, it's a shitty ending, but I was never good with endings anyway, so…**

**Thanks so much for holding out until the end, guys! I hope to see you in the next stories to come! LoveLots 3**


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